Love at First Sightliterally
by persian85033
Summary: The Heart Snatchers are back, and as the portal to Earth has now been closed, they are attacking anotehr planet, leading the sailor of that planet to earth, and a world she never knew, where she sees people for the first time in her life.Set after Stars.
1. Chapter 1

"There was another attack, my Lady."a young woman said, as she walked into a large sitting room.

"Why?"

"We managed to save him, but at the rate it's going, we'll have to speak to someone at the farm to start either replacing the workers, or simply having more just in case they're targeted."

The young woman with the silvery-lilac hair, and dark violet gown got up from her chair.

"This really is stupid."she said, opening her fan. "Why would anyone bother looking for any time of energy here?"

"It wasn't just energy, Princess. I think what whomever it is, what they're really after, was the heart crystal."

"The heart crystal? But that would be no good to anyone! Except me! If they came from my estate! On my planet! This is _my _estate on the planet. Who would think to cross the boundary? Why? Who?"she asked, bewildered.

"Obviously not a Solarian, I can tell you that much."she said, shrugging.

"Don't you use that tone of voice with me!"

She knelt down. "Forgive me, Princess. However, I just received a message that there have been similar attacks on other estates, throughout the planet. That's why I had to bring the matter to your attention, otherwise, we would've attended to it. I've also brought it to Rhea and Zarana's attention. They are waiting for us in the conversation room."

She shook her head.

"Well, then let's get on with it!"she said. "You know how tedious I find viewing them. Or anyone."

"It's simply part of-"

"I know, I know!"she snapped. "My absolute freedom! Or is it my responsibility, this time, Guardian?"


	2. Chapter 2

In the conversation, there was, of course, the one chair, in which she sat while she spoke to others. This was the only way to communicate with other Solarians. Others like her. Around her, there was simply Guardian, who had been assigned to her, and the workers assigned to her estate. All around her were bound to her telepathically, and she was the sole source of energy on the entire estate. Only Solarians were equipped with transducer lobes, and were trained to use them to provide any energy on their estates, which made them sole masters of all the land around them. Without one Solarian to supervise an estate, there would be nothing. Crowding was impossible, as it interfered with the transduction. The Solarians lived a life of complete isolation almost from birth. Their only means of communication with one another was through trimensional viewing. Amaterasu, the princess, the sole carrier of the Sailor Crystal for Solaria, sat in the only chair in the room. In front of her were Rhea and Zarana, both also Crystal bearers for the other two planets of the Solarian star system.

"Well, my Guardian has told me that there have been even more attacks."she said.

Rhea ran her fingers through her hair, shaking it, as though trying to shake the water out.

"Well, yes."she said. "Fortunately, they haven't gotten anything, and no good it would do them, either. No one but the owner of the estate could possible get anything out of them, could they?"

"Of course not."Zarana answered calmly, as someone appeared into the range of vision of the other two, and brought her a drink.

She sipped carefully, then put it down.

"Although, it seems,"she said again, as she pulled out a stack of papers. "that, of course, this isn't the first star system that's been attacked. It looks like the most recent has been…Earth?"she looked at the papers in her hands. "Oh, no. It seems…I think it's what happened to the Aurorans after all."she smiled.

"The…Aurorans?"Amaterasu asked. "But Aurora has been abandoned for years! I don't believe in curses, but…isn't it off limits?"

"Well, yes, but you know no one really knows where they went. And it seems…some time ago, the planet Earth was also experiencing similar attacks like the ones on Solaria, but now it looks like the only way to reach Earth from the Tai Ceti star system has been closed. Permanently?"

"Then we should close the way to ours."suggested Rhea.

"Maybe they would know what to do on Earth!"Amaterasu exclaimed.

The others looked at her.

"It was the Sailor Scouts of the Solar System who…there's no way to reach them. Or I'll come up with one."

"That won't be necessary,"Amaterasu interrupted. "I already have. I think…I will go to Earth myself."

The others looked at her in horror.

"Earth?"

"Leave your estate?"

"Among people? Seeing?"

"Yes, yes, among people. Seeing. I will go."

"But you would be in grave danger."

"I am in danger, anyway, aren't I? We all are. Besides, there can't be more danger on Earth."

"But it's inc-"

"I am a Solarian."Amaterau told them. "And not just any Solarian, I am the Princess of Solaria."she held up her right hand for them to see her ring. "I am free to go anywhere I please. And I wish to go to Earth. I wish to meet the Sailor Scouts of the Solar System. That is part of my absolute freedom. All of us have that freedom. But I wish mine to extend beyond the boundaries of my estate. That is all I have to say. I will go to Earth at once. Done Viewing."she said, turning her back, and walking out of the Conversation Room.

"Guardian! Guardian!"she yelled out impatiently. "We're going to Earth. I am going, and you are coming with me!"


	3. Chapter 3

Amaterasu walked down the street, looking around. Guardian walked behind her.

"Why is everything so…closed?"she asked.

"I believe that's how the people of Earth live."

"Why so close together? Can't they spread out? Don't they get cramped?"

Guardian looked at the map she held in her hand.

"I think it's here."she said, pointing to a building.

They walked into a large lobby, and headed for the elevator. Amaterasu walked into the elevator. Elevators, at least were something she could understand. On Solaria she sometimes used elevators to get around in her mansion.

"Is this where we're staying?"she asked Guardian.

"Yes. It seems to be one of the best things."

"There's so many people, so many sounds…"she sniffed. "Even so many smells. So odd."

So unlike the smells of flowers, earth, rain, and wildlife on Solaria. The door opened, and they went down the hallway.

"I believe this it, my Lady."said Guardian, taking the key.

"What is that for?"

"I think we're supposed to make it so no one but ourselves can go in or out. I think this does the trick. It's called a key."

"Why?"

"I don't think I know…"

"They don't have keys were you come from?"asked a young man at Amaterasu's shoulder.

She turned around.

"I had no clue you wanted to contact me."she frowned.

"You're standing in the middle of the hall."

Guardian pulled her.

_It's seeing, my Lady,_ she told Amaterasu telepathically.

"OH! Am I really seeing you?"she asked.

His eyebrows went up.

"That means…"she reached towards him, and touched his face. "Oh…"she touched his hair. "It feels…a little like…not quite like any animals I've touched…it's not as soft?"she looked at Guardian.

Guardian pulled her hand away. _It's a filthy business._ she told her. Amaterasu could hardly believe it.

"I…I imagine, I could even smell you!"she giggled.

She had never seen a person before. Much less a person whom she could touch, and was so close. All her life, she had simply viewed other people, seen their image, and treated her like an equal, and she couldn't read their thoughts, or wasn't bound them in any way, especially telepathically.

_Princess! Princess!_ She could hear Guardian's voice.

She opened her eyes. Above her were Guardian, and the same young man whom they had met in the hall.

"I would never have thought that the way I smelled could possibly affect you like that. It must be this new cologne. I had to wear it because my fiancé gave it to me, and as I went to see her, I only thought it might please her. Although I have to say, it _is _rather strong. I'm sorry. Well, I guess you'll recover faster, if I leave. Hope you feel better. I suppose I'll see you around."

He left.

"That was the person who lives in the…room next to ours."Guardian told her.

"Why is this so small? The mansion looked so big from the outside?"

"I don't think it's customary to live in the entire mansion by oneself here. I think each person lives in such a dwelling."Guardian explained. "He has just been back from another continent, he was studying. I think he has lived here for quite a while. Except for that time which he was on another continent of this planet. His name is Darien, I believe."

"Will we vi-I mean, see him again?"asked Amaseratu.

Guardian frowned.

"I hope not! If he has such an ill effect on you, Princess! And your ge-"

"It wasn't him, Guardian. It was…there's so much of everything here! And I _could_ smell him, you know. It was the first time in my life that I could ever smell anyone. And the hallway was so small. Everything is. And so many other sounds…and smells…"

"Well, such a thing is customary here, on Earth, I believe."


	4. Chapter 4

"Everything seems so small."Amaterasu insisted for the umpteenth time that next day.

"That's true. It seems small because it is small. The population on Earth is much higher than on Solaria. I don't think they exercise any kind of population control. The population simply…grows."

"Why?"she looked outside the window. "And the sky looks different, too. But Earth's star isn't too different from Solaria's. It's about the same. But it doesn't seem to give off as much light. Is Earth farther from its star?"

"They are about the same. I think they call it smog. It's a kind of waste."

"Why would anyone put waste in the sky?"

"I think that's what they use for energy here. Transduction on such a populated planet is not possible. There'd be too many trying to use the Earth's interior heat, or the heat from Earth's star. It wouldn't last very long. Such a thing is possible on Solaria because there are so few Solarians."

Amaterasu looked down at the street below.

"Why don't they walk?"she demanded, seeing all the cars.

"I don't suppose they like it."

"And why is there so much noise?"

"I think it's because you're not accustomed to it. After all, the fields on Solaria are noisy, too, only that you are accustomed to that sort of noise, birds, running water and such. You are not accustomed to the sort of noise here."

"Oh. I'm starting to feel claustrophobic, I think. Look, there's a field over there!"Amaterasu pointed. "I want to get away from all this for a while, I want to go run in the field. Guardian, get my sandals."

Amaterasu walked out of the apartment for the first time since her arrival on Earth. She looked at the other doors. It seemed almost inconceivable to her that there should be doors through which she could not cross. That she could be sharing this mansion with other. While Guardian was busy looking for what she termed keys, Amaterasu walked out, and toward one of the doors. She put her hand on the doorknob, and as she was about to turn it, it turned itself, and the door opened. The same man whom Amaterasu had seen the day before emerged from it, and following him a young lady about Amaterasu's own age.

"Oh, hello."she tried to look over his sholder. "Is that the conversation room?"she asked. How else would one explain that they had just seen images, no seen the real people, walking out of a room.

"Uh, I suppose so."he said.

"Who is this, Darien?"asked the lady who stood next to him.

"Oh, we haven't really been introduced. I only know the other girl, who lives with you. Are you feeling better?"

"I always feel fine."Amaterasu told him. She was, after all, in the best genetic health out of everyone on her planet.

"I'm glad to hear that."he turned to the other girl. "She fainted just yesterday afternoon for no reason."

"Oh, dear! You shouldn't try to go for long on an empty stomach."she said.

"I'm Darien, by the way. And this is Serena. My fiancé."

"What's your name?"asked Serena.

"Fiance?"Amaterasu asked. "What's a fiancé?"

They both looked surprised and shocked.

"We're going to be married!"Serena told her, smiling.

"Oh! I'm _so _sorry!"Amaterasu exclaimed. Married? Well, other people married, they used to marry on Solaria as well. Now they had done away with that, and only maintained the population through cloning, she was told. "I'm so sorry you have to. I know I've heard that it is the hardest thing in life, to marry. Perhaps you could be cloned, or simply give your genetic information to be analyzed, and have the best genes chosen."

"What?"

"But we want to get married."

"You _want_?"

"Of course. Don't you ever want to get married?"Serena asked her.

"Oh, no! It's very…"Amaterasu blushed. "indecent. Even to speak about it."

"Where are you from?"

"Solaria."

"Where's that?"

Amaterasu thought.

"I'd have to look for the coordinates. I'm not sure I'd know without them."

"Well, it's very weird, if they say marriage is bad. I think it's wonderful! So romantic! I love planning the wedding! And I can't wait for it, either."

"What's a wedding?"

"When you get married."Darien told her.

"Wow, you must have grown up in a place far far far away."Serena said.

"It is far."

"I figured. But that's all right, how would you like to hang out with me and my friends tomorrow?"

"Hang? From where?"

Serena giggled.

"Not hang, but hang out. You know, like at the arcade. Do you know where the arcade is?"

"No."

"Well, then, I'll just come get you, and you can come with Darien and me."she told her. "We'll show you."

"Is there a lot of seeing?"Amaterasu asked nervously.

"You mean sightseeing?"

"No, seeing. Seeing people. Not viewing them. I don't want to see too many people. It makes my head hurt to think about so many!"

"Well, if you're not comfortable at the arcade we'll think of something else."


	5. Chapter 5

Serena held out her hand, to lead her. Amaterasu stared.

"Well, that's all right."said Serena. "This is Ami, Rei, Mina and Lita."she said, pointing to each of them, in turn.

"Hello."said Mina. "So, you're foreign?"

"That's not very nice to say, Mina."said the one called Ami. "I'm sorry, Mina can sometimes be a little rude, but she doesn't really mean it."

"Oh, of course, not!"exclaimed Mina, and running to hug Amaterasu.

When Mina hugged her, Amaterasu simply stood still, trying to put together everything her mind was absorbing. Mina's hair was soft, she wore it almost around her face, with a red bow. Amaterasu reached up to touch it. It didn't feel like her hair, even though it was on top of her head.

"How come the bow doesn't feel like your hair? Your hair smells…"she sniffed. "it smells like…flowers, but I'm not sure what species. At least I think it's flowers."

"I hope so!"Mina fingered her hair self consciously.

Amaterasu couldn't take her eyes off the bow. She took her eyes away from Mina, and looked at the other girls.

"It's just like viewing, isn't it?"she said. "Only…"she reached out and touched Mina's bow again. "Only touching?"she said.

"Viewing?"asked the one called Lita.

Amaterasu nodded.

"It's what we did on Solaria. We never saw, we viewed."she said.

"What's viewing?"

"You saw the other person's image. Not them."

"How is that different?"asked Serena.

"You couldn't touch them, or smell them. You simply…viewed them. Saw their image."

The other girls stared.

"Where are you from?"asked Ami.

"Solaria."

"I've never heard of such a thing. Viewing. Perhaps it's simply a different way of terming it, and you simply expected more personal space from one another."

"Well, should we get going, or not?"

"Is it true that no one you ever knew got married?"Mina asked her.

Everyone was sitting in Amaterasu's living room, or conversation room as she called it, while the girl whom she called Guardian served them drinks. Serena had wanted to take Amaterasu around the city, and show her the sights, but the other girl, insisted that Amaterasu was only becoming accustomed to the city, and said that it wouldn't be recommendable. Ami had agreed, saying it would be very shocking for a country person, as she assumed Amaterasu to be, to suddenly emerge out into the busy city.

"Oh, my! No! We don't marry anymore. We simply donate genes. Although no one knows whom they share genes with."

"You mean, their family?"asked Ami.

"Family?"

"Um, people who share genes. They would be family, wouldn't they?"

"No, they would share genes."

Ami frowned.

"So, does that mean you don't have any plans to get married?"Mina asked her, stirring her drink with her straw.

"Of course not. I will run my own estate, as my own, of course."

"An estate? So you do have family, don't you? Your family's estate."Ami intervened again.

"The estate is mine."she said.

"Who taught you to run it? Or who runs it for you?"

"I run it. Why would anyone else? It's mine."

"Forget the estate."said Mina. "You know, wherever you come from, it _is_ odd, but you're in Tokyo now, and here, people not only marry, they fall in love."

"Love? I've read about love. In some books."she shrugged. "I think it sounds…unusual."

"Well, you're going to experience it for yourself! I'm going to make sure you do! Just leave it to me!"

Amaterasu sipped her drink.

"Leave it? But I brought nothing with me?"

"What she means,"Lita explained. "is that she'll probably hook you up with some hot guy! Mina's great at that."

Amaterasu looked around. There were no hooks.

"Oh, a hook! Guardian, my crochet! I have plenty of hooks! They're made on my estate. If you want one, you could have it. I have many more."

"Wow! They're very pretty."said Lita.

Amaterasu shrugged.

"I have many more."she gave them to Lita.

"Wow. But I don't know how to use them."

"I was taught while I was young."

"Well, back to the guy."said Mina. "And we'll start by taking you to the arcade tomorrow. So acclimatize yourself to the city, cause no excuses tomorrow! And we'll tell the guys to come with us, as well! So be ready!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Princess, these girls are distracting you."Guardian said.

"Not distracting, Guardian. Besides, I saw in their minds a guarded secret. In each of them. I do believe that secret to be an alter ego. I do believe they might have some connection to the Solar System Sailor Scouts."

"Then you must tell them everything!"

"I couldn't ruin their minds if they are! Can you imagine!"

Amaterasu sighed.

"Minds are too delicate! And human ones complex!"

"All the more reason why you shouldn't go out! Too many human minds!"

"No, I will go!"

Guardian frowned. She was no one to contradict the Princess of Solaria.

"There you are! Well, are you ready?"Mina asked. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Amaterasu pulled her gloves on. She was completely covered almost from her chin down to the hem of her skirt.

"What do you need gloves for?"asked Serena.

"I will be seeing. I suppose you might touch people when you see?"Amaterasu answered. "I don't like the color,"she admitted. "But I guess I would be less noticeable in gray? Everything seems gray."

Mina scratched her head.

"Okay! First of all, we can't send you to go change. And second, you probably don't have a lot of clothes, anyway. Third, I guess we're going to have to take you shopping instead."

"But I already told Nephrite that I'd meet him at the arcade!"Lita told her.

"But how could you have told him if you want to meet him!"

Mina rolled her eyes.

"Never mind that right now. Do you have a phone?"

"Phone?"

"Why don't you simply ask Darien?"Ami suggested. "Bunny's with him right now, anyways."

"True. I'll be right back."Mina walked across the hall.

"Mina really is obsessed with shopping."Ami told Amaterasu, while Lita ran after Mina to phone Nephrite.

"Shopping?"

"You get new clothes."Ami explained to her.

"But I have clothes."

"Mina thinks you should dress differently. I'm not very into fashion myself."said Ami quietly.

"Fashion?"

"What people wear."

"Clothes?"Amaterasu suggested.

"Mina will explain it better than I can."

"It's all settled, then!"Mina said as she, Lita, and Bunny walked out of Darien's apartment.

"I still don't get why Darien has to study."Bunny pouted.

"Darien's a guy. Amaterasu needs our help now."she took Amaterasu's arm, and pulled her. "Now, we're going to the mall!"

The mall was much bigger than the apartment.

"It's almost like my mansion!"Amaterasu said, looking around. "Only smaller, and so many people!"

The other girls weren't so concerned about the people, but Amaterasu couldn't take her eyes off them. What was worse, she exclaimed every time someone touched her accidentally, and she kept pointing, and paying attention to different things. Ami looked at the books in a bookstore.

"Like a small library room in my library!"Amaterasu had exclaimed.

Lita kept wanting to try different perfumes and scents, which Mina had to drag Amaterasu away from as well, since she couldn't believe that such things to make people smell a certain way could exist, and she was mystified that people actually tried to smell different.

"Wow! It's like you could almost…"she couldn't find the right words. "it's incredible! I always loved the scent of the mountains, and the rain brought it out so well! But I never thought to bring it with me! It's almost like carrying it with you!"

Amaterasu said a particular one reminded her of the jasmines at Solaria. Serena kept wanting to go to the food court, and Rei said she thought she should use a different shampoo for her hair, and walked into a store for hair care products.

"I know that there are many different things for your hair. On Solaria, I always had the staff mix special mixtures to my own liking, and so they worked for me."Amaterasu told her.

Finally, Mina got her to the store she was looking for, and they went to look at the clothes. Unfortunately, Mina thought, Amaterasu concentrated on all the different things. She had no idea of what the latest fashions were, Mina thought it was almost as though she were trying to buy for a small child.

"Oh, wow! That looks like it's nice to go in the mountains in, but it's actually better to not use it all. You see, you could feel the wind with every inch of skin without it. Sometimes even without sandals."Amaterasu said, as Mina pulled out a mini skirt.

"Go out without it!"exclaimed Ami.

Mina almost dropped the skirt. Here, who seemed the most modest of girls, thinking about going out wearing nothing!

"You mean…go…You go out…but what do people…"

"There are no people."Amaterasu told her.

"Um, forget the skirt, Mina. I think we should just stick to Amaterasu's notion of covering herself when there are people around."

But Mina wouldn't give up. She searched until she found what she thought would fit Amaterasu best.

"We can't have her meeting a guy dressed the way she does. And I guess we'll have to give her classes on how to behave!"Mina told the other girls, as she told Amaterasu to try stuff on.

"Really, Mina! Maybe she doesn't want a boyfriend, anyway."Ami told her.

"Now you listen to me, Ami! This is a mission for the senshi of love! And I know just what I'm doing. As a matter of fact, I'm already looking for the perfect guy for her! Can you imagine! Being raised in a place where people don't marry! Or fall in love! No, I've made it my mission to rescue her."

"I'm hungry,"Serena whined.

They dragged their purchases to the food court, each girl carrying six large bags of clothing, shoes, and jewelry Mina chose out.

"You really are observant, aren't you?"Mina commented to Amaterasu.

"I don't know! This is such a strange place! It's extraordinary, really! So many people!"


	7. Chapter 7

Amaterasu couldn't help but keep laughing every time Mina tried to teach that she should act a certain way, at a certain time, or do a certain thing.

"It's not so funny!"Mina insisted. "You see, these things are elementary. Now I know why you never get married! You'd never catch a guy."

At her last sentence Amaterasu burst out laughing.

"But,"she said. "I've read of hunting! And fishing! I don't do either, but I've read people do."

_At last!_ Mina thought to herself.

"Yes! You see! That's how you should look at it! Only instead of bears or fish, you think guys."

"Think…guys…"Amaterasu said.

Not knowing what Mina meant, she went into Mina's mind, but decided against it, upon sensing the vast amount of thoughts in it. On Solaria, where there were no humans, only animals, it was relatively simple. Of course, all Solarians actually practiced and learned about humans, but Amaterasu had never cared for that.

"Are you paying attention!"Mina demanded.

"Um, yes, of course."

"Well, you saw a lot of guys at the mall, now you're going to the arcade with me and everyone, and the guys will go with us as well. So keep your eyes peeled."

"Um, I'm not sure how to peel my eyes…"

"I mean, just be observant, like you always are!"

"Oh, okay."

Darien walked with them to the arcade. Although Mina kept pointing several boys to Amaterasu, this time it seemed Amaterasu had no interest in anything the way she did at the mall. She seemed to be staring at Darien with Bunny on his arm.

"Well, here we are!"said Mina, and they walked over to a booth where there were four other people sitting.

Mina introduced them to Amaterasu.

"She's the only I told you about. Darien's new neighbor."she was telling the one called Kunzite.

Amaterasu couldn't help but notice that Mina seemed to act towards him the same way Bunny did with Darien.

"We're trying to help her, since she's new in time! And she gives a whole new meaning to the word new! Is she ever new! We just spend all day shopping, and the time it took me to get her to dress the way she is today! You wouldn't believe how that girl, that _Guardian_ dresses her."

Amaterasu was wearing jeans, with embroidery on the hems, and back pockets, Usagi was the one who insisted on these, because she thought the embroidery was cute and romantic. Mina agreed that it would be eye catching. And her blouse was a blue one, with beads around the neck. Despite Mina's insistence, Amaterasu wore her gloves, which Mina thought was rather strange, because no matter how much she had insisted that it did not match her earrings, or anything else she was wearing Amterasu had refused to take off the one ring on her right hand, which she always wore.

"Guardian doesn't dress me."Amaterasu said. "I dress myself. Although if I do wish it, one of the staff back home would dress me, would I require it. Or Guardian herself would do it."

"Well, enough with this Guardian. She really doesn't interest me very much, and personally, I think she's a bad influence on you! What's important now, is finding you a guy."Mina began to look around. "You guys know anyone who might go out with her?"she asked the boys.

"Well…."started the one called Jedeite. "not really…"

"That's horrible. We'll have to work twice as hard now."Mina looked over her shoulder. "Amaterasu drink your milkshake, and pay more attention to your surroundings."

Amaterasu obeyed, and sipped her milkshake.

"Perhaps you're already getting used to it. Yesterday, you noticed everything and everyone at the mall! Today, it seems more normal to her."Lita put in.

"Lita's probably right."Ami said.

Throughout the entire afternoon, Mina tried and failed to draw Amaterasu's attention to different guys she saw walk in and out. She also couldn't get Amaterasu to act the way a girl should around them. She seemed more mystified and interested by the video game themselves.

"Why is the viewer so small!"she kept exclaiming in disclaim. "A viewer should be big enough to fill the entire wall, if not the room, at least!"

"It's not a viewer. It's a video game."they told her.

When they all went home, Mina had a surprise for Amaterasu. She brought out several books, that she had brought from the library for her to read.

"Now, you can go over these, and start applying some of the things we learned."she told her.

"I've read books like these."Amaterasu said, holding up a romance novel. "Sometimes they don't make any sense."she held up Anna Karenina. "I will never understand why she behaved the way she did. I would've been pleased to have a position, and a good name, which apparently is important. But she gave it up? She committed suicide."

"Well, you see, that's what love is. It makes one…sometimes be a bit unreasonable."Ami said.

Amaterasu opened another book.

"Perverse."she said. "Touching."she held up another book. "That's unreasonable. No one would do such a thing, not with a healthy genetic make up. But they would do things in love?"

"Well, I don't think it goes as far as being perverse."said Lita. "That's something else."

Amaterasu read from the books.

"But it is! I've been here, and I still feel, every time I see someone, as though something slimy were about to touch me. I still can't go out without my gloves."

"But I'm sure it will get better. You see us, don't you?"said Bunny.

Amaterasu nodded.

"It has gotten better. I can be here with the five of you without my gloves now. But I don't feel like that when…"she stopped. "Does that mean I am being unreasonable as well?"

"When don't you feel as though something slimy were about to touch you?"Rei asked her.

"One person. Other than Guardian. He…"

"Ah! Who is it? Is it someone we know?"Mina started to bombard her with questions.

Amaterasu only stared. Rei pulled Mina away.

"Well, I'm sure you will tell us when you are ready."Lita said, gently.


	8. Chapter 8

"Perhaps I must undergo a gene analysis, Guardian!"Amaterasu said to her.

"But, Princess, your genetic health is the highest ever recorded on Solaria. Don't you wear your ring to prove it?"

"Well, yes…"Amaterasu touched the ring. "But…I am being perverse and unreasonable."she hung her head. "You see, I am becoming accustomed to seeing, I think."

"Accustomed to seeing?"

"Not everyone. I don't mind them anymore, but…I can see one person."

Guardian stared.

"They said it was love? What is love?"

"It is a term given for something that limits total freedom. That is why it had be banished on Solaria. To get rid of the vestige for seeing."Guardian told her.

Amaterasu took her hairbrush.

"Well, I do want to see one person."

Guardian shook her head.

"Once we find the Sailor Scouts of the Solar System, there will be no need to see anyone, Lady. We will simply return to Solaria. Don't you want to return to Solaria?"Guardian asked her.

Amaterasu looked at her hands.

"Yes. It is my home. I miss Solaria very much. But if I do leave…I will never…Everyone here talks about it in such a different way. No one on Solaria mentions it. Marrying can't be so bad, can it?"

"You would want to marry?"asked Guardian, sounding scandalized.

"N-no."Amaterasu said, carefully.

On the way to Rei's temple, Mina kept thinking and discussing possibilities for Amaterasu.

"But she said there was she liked!"

"She didn't say that, Mina, simply that there was one person she started to feel comfortable around."Ami cut in.

"Well, that's a start, isn't it? Only who? Love at first sight, someone at the mall? The arcade?"

"Do you really think she seems the type to be struck by something like that?"Rei asked.

"Well, that can happen to anyone. We have to find who this guy is!"

"But she hasn't spoken to any guys since she's been here! Only Darien, and this afternoon, Kunzite, Jedeite, Zoicite, and Nephrite!"

Mina stopped in her tracks.

"Hmm, you don't think…?"she asked.

"Think what?"asked Serena.

Mina's eyes were wide.

"That maybe…I mean…she…well, she lives in the same building. It would seem…natural to see him everyday?"

"You mean Darien?!"Lita asked.

Mina nodded.

"I don't think so."said Rei. "She's too shy. She probably just said that to see if you'd leave her alone."

"No, I think that _is _it! There would only be one way to find out! She said she could see this person without gloves, and she hasn't seen anyone without gloves. She even puts them on when she's around. We just have to ask Darien if he's ever seen her without gloves."

Amaterasu sat, staring at the wall. On the other side of the wall, she knew, she could feel him. She could feel his mind. Same as she could Guardian or any other on her estate. But different. He probably didn't feel her. Wasn't worried about anticipating her wishes. She had heard that the thing that worried the fetologists most was the unexpected mutation. Perhaps she was such a mutation. No Solarian could possibly have thoughts like she did! _I am mutated! I am a pervert!_ She thought to herself. No Solarian had ever seen another Solarian close enough to touch since they had taken up the practice of cloning, and there was no need to marry. She had heard that it was the hardest thing in life. In order to keep the population steady, they needed two individuals. Perverse emotional attachments developed, and freedom was limited. And that was what they wanted. Complete freedom. Wasn't freedom to do just as one pleased? To have all one could want? The characters in love in the books Mina had given to her did not seem like they were free. They were tormented. She had everything she wanted. Although she realized the question had always been in the back of her mind, never did it trouble her as it did now. Did she have everything she wanted? She was in good genetic health. She was a princess. She could run, walk for miles and never encounter a human being, another living creature if she did not wish it. She had total control over everything and every one on her estate. That was why she was the only Solarian on the estate. The way Mina insisted, one would think that love was almost necessary. But Amaterasu wasn't sure what love was. No one ever talked about it on Solaria, other than Guardian saying it was perverse.

"Guardian, figure out a way to speak with Mina. Perhaps Mina could solve this for her. Mina seemed like such an expert on these things.

"Mina!"Amaterasu exclaimed as she picked up the phone, after Guardian dialed the number. "What is love?"

"What?"

"I need an answer, Mina!"

"Well…I'm not sure what to say. Well, I see it as a deep passion for someone else."

Amaterasu was horrified. Passion! Such a thing that drove the characters to commit such monstrosities! Could she actually be driven to the same thing?

"No!"she exclaimed. "Not passion! It's horrid!"

"What are you talking about? I think it is that you care so much for someone, you would do anything for them, a feeling, a stirring inside of you that connects you to another person. You always want to see a smile on their face. You want to be with them. You want to make them happy."

Make someone happy? But everyone else would always make her happy?

"But why are you asking me this?"

"I…was curious."

"Well, now you'll have to answer something for me."

"Oh, yes."Amaterasu composed herself.

"You have to tell me who you were referring to this afternoon."

"Refering to?"

"Whom can you see without wearing your gloves? Do you see him often?"

"Well, yes, every day."

"Where?"

"In the hallway."

"He wouldn't by any chance be Darien, would it?"


	9. Chapter 9

Amaterasu almost dropped the phone. She thought only Solarians could read minds.

"You're a telepath as well!"she said.

"Well, in the sense, I suppose. It wasn't that hard to figure out.

Amaterasu put her hand over her mouth.

⌠It is that obvious? So close to the surface? she asked.

"Well, yes. I mean, who else?"

She sank into a chair.

"Why??she asked Mina in despair.

"You know, I said that I would hook you up with someone, but I never thought Darien! I mean he's Serena's fiance.

"I…"she hung up.

She knew she should go straight back to Solaria. It would be the right thing to do. Mina said that she should want to make someone happy. She got up, how could you make someone happy?she thought. She'd seen Darien happy. What made her happy. She knew very little about other people. Only herself. She had only ever really been around herself.

"I'm going to go outside, Guardian!"she said, reaching for gloves. "Stay here!"

She put them on, and went out. She looked at her watch. Yes, perhaps. He should probably be here any minute.

"Darien!"she said when he walked out of the elevator.

"Hello, Amaterasu."he said, smiling.

Amaterasu didn't know what to say.

"What makes you happy?"she asked.

"What?"

"Mina said something about making people happy. What makes people happy."she asked him.

"What do you mean?"he asked.

"I've seen you happy."she said.

"Well, yes. I am happy. I'm about to marry Serena."

"That makes you happy?"she asked uncertainly.

"Yes."

She frowned. Getting married made him happy.

"Limiting your freedom makes you happy." she said, as though translating it into her own words.

"Limiting my freedom? Why would I limit my freedom?"

"Freedom is only to do what one wishes. Marriage limits freedom."

"Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it. I guess in some ways it does, but in others, it give you more freedom, I guess."

"More freedom?"

Serena arrived.

"Oh, hello!" she said, seeing Amaterasu.

"Um, yes." she said.

"We're going to look at designs for invitations."she told her. "Are you doing anything? You could come with us. Maybe you could help us choose."

Amaterasu looked around at the designs. Serena and Darien didn't seem to agree on any one thing, and Amaterasu was too distracted to really notice anything.

"Oh, don't you think this one is romantic?"Serena asked, holding one up. "And it's perfect!"

⌠Roses. I had a lot of roses on Solaria. They had a very strong scent. Although I▓ve heard they have very beautiful ones here on Ea-I mean, here. I▓ve always wondered what they would look like under the moon. I▓ve never seen the moon┘I▓ve always wondered┘I tried to paint them by the moonlight once.■

She had only tried to imagine, as Solaria had no moon.

"Oh, really! Roses are going to the flowers at the wedding. I didn't know you liked them."

"There are many."she said.

"I never thought of a picture of a rose in the moonlight! You know, that would be perfect! Why didn't I ever think of that!"

While she said this, and a thought entered her mind, Amaterasu caught a glimpse of Serena's mind.

"Oh! I have to go back!"she said, and forgetting that there were people around, she turned, and shoved her way out.


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't believe it, Guardian!"Amaterasu said. "I knew in their minds was a very big secret! You see! She is Sailor Moon! I saw it when the image of the moon entered her mind! I suppose…that the rest of them might…Guardian, you must contact them at once!"

Guardian nodded.

"Then what did you want to talk to us for?"Ami asked her.

Amaterasu looked at them.

"Um, I need your help. I know that the Aurorans last attacked your own planet."she said.

They looked confused.

"Aurorans?"

"Aurora, the planet that revolves around the Tai Ceti star. They…look for heart crystals, I think."

"You mean the heart snatchers?"

They looked shocked, as though not believing that she knew about them.

"Yes! I…well, once I said that I couldn't tell you where Solaria was located without looking up the coordinates. Well, I had Guardian look them up. That way I could tell you. She wrote them down, see?"

"These are space coordinates."

"Well, Solaria is located in space. Solaria is the outermost of three planets. It's where I was born. Unfortunately, it seems that they are wanting to attack us now. I don't know what they want! But you should know! How must we stop them?"

They stared wordlessly at her.

"You're from…another planet?"they asked.

"Like the Starlights?"

"Well, yes, I'm from another planet. I came here to find the Sailor Scouts of the Solar System. I need your help."she said. "And…I'd like you to come to Solaria with me. You must!"

"But you came here? To find us?"asked Lita.

Amaterasu nodded.

"But when…"

"I know that is incomprehensible that Solaria would allow outside invasion. That is just why I do not understand. There is no way there could have been such attacks."

"They wanted a vessel."said Ami.

"A vessel? You must come to Solaria!"

"But…the wedding is-"Serena began.

"It shouldn't take too long. Shouldn't we take the others, as well?"Ami said. "After all, it was Saturn and Pluto who locked them."

"I do promise it really won't! I simply do want to save my world! I want to go back!"

"I want to talk to you."Mina told Amaterasu after the others were out of earshot.

"Yes?"

"Listen, I know you said you loved Darien, but…he…"Mina didn't know what to say.

"You said it was to make someone happy. I have learned a different definition of love, but I like yours better. Mina, I would like you to teach me to make someone happy. I have never known, everyone has always worked to make me happy."she frowned. "Does that mean that Guardian and the workers love me?"

"Well, wouldn't you be happier with someone from your own planet?"she asked.

Amaterasu thought. Would she be happier on Solaria? Could she? Was she ever happy on Solaria? On Solaria she had freedom. She did as she pleased. That was freedom. That was happiness.

"I don't know! I don't…I'm a Solarian!"she exclaimed more to herself, than to Mina. "I-I will go back to Solaria, and I will…as soon as the Aurorans are gone, I will…I will return to Solaria, and I will…have freedom."she said. "Um, Guardian said we should go as soon as possible."


	11. Chapter 11

Everyone looked around.

"Uh, are we inside, or outside?"asked Lita.

"This is the teleporting room. Most of the workers can teleport. The estate is so big. So now we are using to arrive here. I never use it."Amaterasu explained.

"An entire room? Just to teleport!"ased Serena in awe.

"Well, yes."

"It's so big…it seems like we're outside."

"Oh. Well, rooms are big. Although on Earth they were rather tiny."

"I guess it would seem that way if all the other rooms are like this."observed Ami.

"Could we have a tour?"asked Lita, eagerly.

"Tour?"

"Show us around?"

"Oh, you want to see the mansion."

"A mansion?"

"Well, it would have to be a mansion. Just look at the size of this place."

"It's not really so big."Amaterasu said. "Such a dwelling is customary on Solaria. But which room would you like to see first? There is the dining room, the sitting room, the conversation room, the closet rooms, the library rooms, the sun rooms, the bakery rooms, the-"

"We get the picture."Rei said.

"Did you say bakery?"asked Serena.

Amaterasu nodded.

"Oh, can we tour the bakery?"

"Of course, if you want to. I've never been there. Usually, anything I wish for, is simply brought to me."

"OH, I want everything in the bakery! Everything with chocolate in it!"

Amaterasu nodded. Almost at once, what seemed like a parade entered. They carried huge trays loaded with bread, cakes, cookies, any kind of pastry imaginable.

"Oh, wow!"exclaimed Serena.

Everyone stared.

"But how-"

"You wished for everything from the bakery. I commanded that they bring it here. Or"she hesitated. "would you rather they take it back, and we went to the bakery?"

"Oh, no! I wouldn't dream of it!"Serena dug right in.

"You could dream of it, I think. I think dreams are subconscious."Amaterasu told her.

"Oh, she means she doesn't want you to send all this back."Ami explained to her.

"But you didn't move from here! You were here the whole time! How could you have given the order! And so quickly, too."Mina told her.

"This estate is mine. All the workers here are mine. They are joined to me telepathically. You won't see them if you don't want to. I never do, except when I summon one of them. Then, of course, they obey my orders. It is what they do."

"Just…like that?"

"No, not like that. I give an order. We are joined telepathically, so we communicate that way, or I simply make a gesture with my hand. When my hand moves it emits tiny vibrations, to which they are sensitive. I only use it for simple commands, like come here, bring tea. Since the one for the bakery was more complex I had to use telepathy."

"Impressive."said Ami.

Serena was devouring everything in sight.

"Wow! I've never tasted anything like this! Where did you get it?"

"From the bakery."

"You must have excellent bakers! They have to give me their recipes!"Lita told her.

"You want their recipes?"

"I don't think she meant right now."Ami added hastily.

"Wow! We've only been here a few short minutes, and I'm already enjoying it! I don't think I'm going to want to leave!"Serena said.

"But don't we have a mission?"

"It's certainly a very nice landscape."Darien commented, looking out the window, at the many folds of mountains.

"I'm fond of the mountains myself. That is why the mansion is build in the mountains. Or if you prefer the forest, or the sea…"

"No, I think this is very nice."

She reached out towards his mind.

"You are happy?"she confirmed.

"Well, yes. Such a sight would make anyone feel happy, wouldn't it?"

"Well…perhaps we should help Serena finish these off!"Mina said, walking towards them. "Or there will be none left!"

"Of course there will."Amaterasu told her. "There are always many left."

"But you have to try them!"she said to Darien.


	12. Chapter 12

They had been on Solaria three days.

"I'm bored!"said Lita. "There's nothing to do around here."

"There is simply-"Amaterasu began.

"To do as we please."Lita finished. "And what else is there to do?"

"Anything."said Amaterasu. "And find the one carrying the evil in them. I suppose it could be on my estate. But that's incomprehensible! And anyway, I have scanned the entire estate."

"Well, is your estate all of Solaria?"Ami asked her.

"No, of course, not. Me, being the princess, it is the biggest estate, but there are others. I have never left my estate."

"You mean, you've never seen the rest of the planet? If you could do as you wish, suppose you wanted to go another estate?"

"Why would I want to go? What could I do with another estate, when I have my own, which is so beautiful right here? Why should I go?"

Everyone stared.

"Then we should also look among the others."Ami suggested.

"Oh, no! No Solarian crosses the borders of another Solarian. We each live alone. It is the only way freedom can exist. We do not flock. We are individuals."

"You all seem so alike to me."Rei said. "Although we've never met."

They had viewed other Solarians. The images were very realistic. They could talk, do anything, except touch.

"It's a filthy thing."Amaterasu said. "We shouldn't be too close to one another. If we are, we limit our freedom. We try to impose our will against one another, and another tries to impose their will on us. And we conflict. Everyone is simply content to do as they please, so as long as others are content as long as they do as they please."

"You talk to so much about freedom."Darien said. "Only…you seem to measure it with different standards. True, you can do anything you want. There's no one to tell you what to do, so many others to follow your orders, but…"

"It gets boring after a while. Even the food."Serena complained.

"There is always enough food. As much as you can eat."

"Even I can't eat all day!"Serena whined.

"You could swim. You could ride. I love horses. I have so many. You could run outside, and feel the wind."

"We've done that too much."complained Lita.

"We have to go to other estates. It might be there. When they were on Earth, Hotaru was the one. It might be on another estate."

"But you can't go to another Solarian's estate!"

"Then I want to go back to Earth."said Rei.

"We'd have to go to other estates."Darien said.

"Well…I suppose it would be necessary. But how? Through viewing you can contact another Solarian, but not one of their workers. They are not allowed to view other Solarians."

"Suppose another Solarian is the one?"Ami suggested.

"No, I don't think so. We have excellent telepathy. Nothing could control us. No one could control their minds."

"Then…if we can't go to other estates, then what are we going to do?"said Mina.

"Well, all right. Will it make you happy to go other estates? I will contact them if that is so. They won't have to endure my personal presence, but simply allow us to cross into their estates. Or would personal presence make you happy?"she especially looked at Darien when she said this.

"It would certainly help with this mission."Rei said. "Unless, maybe you don't want to save your world."

"Should I go to other estates?"Amaterasu asked Mina later. "Is that making someone happy?"

"You know, Darien really does love Bunny."

"It makes him happy to see her happy. I have observed that in his mind."

"Well, yes, like I said, he loves her."

Amaterasu nodded.

"So I should make Bunny happy instead? But I don't love Bunny?"

"If only…well…you could find someone right here."

"There is no one here."

"Well, we're going to the other estates. Maybe there'll be someone there."said Mina, more to herself, than to Amaterasu.

"Only one Solarian on each estate. They might consent to see you, as you are not Solarian. But they will never consent to see me. I am a Solarian. They will not consent to my personal presence."


	13. Chapter 13

This time, they went on a plane.

"I would've thought you weren't used to flying."Lita observed as Amaterasu looked out the window. She turned to look at her.

"I've traveled in a plane before. Across my estate. That's the easiest way to get from one place to another. The estate is so big, and there's so much of it, you can't reach it by walking, of course. I've never crossed the boundaries, though. I wonder…"she looked outside.

"How do you know where your estate ends and another starts?"Bunny asked.

"I…don't know?"she answered. "I guess…it just…ends. I've never crossed the bouondaries."

When they landed, a group of people, whom by now they could tell were simply workers on the estate stood waiting for them. In the background, was another group, who seemed unaware of their arrival, and kept at their work.

"There are other people here!"exclaimed Mina, looking out at them.

"The workers are never present on my estate, they can sense my presence, and leave if I don't want to see them."

"And here?"

"Well, didn't you want to see other workers?"

"Isn't anyone here to greet us?"

The group that had greeted them simply bowed their heads, and stood in front of them. Mina looked around them for a sign of anyone other than the people in front.

"Of course not! I'm here! I'm a Solarian! I could never see another a Solarian!"

"Then…"

"We could scan the workers, I guess."

"There isn't a sign in any one of them."

"There are many more. Few Solarians, only a couple of thousand. I think the population is…twenty thousand to be exact."

"Only twenty thousand? On an entire planet?!"

"That's so there is no overcrowding, and no danger of overpopulation."

"No wonder you never see any one! There _is_ no one!"

"Where are we supposed to spend the night?"asked Bunny.

"We will have to travel to the mansion. There, we will stay in the quarters assigned to us. We will not leave, and the Solarian who oversees this estate will stay in theirs."

"Well, at least it's comfortable."said Darien.

"Of course it's comfortable, just about everything we've seen on this world is nothing but luxury."Rei answered him.

"I could easily live like this every day of my life!"said Bunny.

"Could you?"Amaterasu asked her.

Bunny stared at her. Of course, Amaterasu was just simply so accustomed to being waited on hand and foot that she didn't notice it herself. But Bunny couldn't help but marvel at the fact that she was surrounded by people who lived for nothing but to serve them, and anticipate their need and wants, even to the point of disappearing if they didn't want them to know they were there.

"It's almost magic!"she told them.

"It's not magic."Amaterasu told her. "It is simply…it simply is. Earth was more bizarre. More odd. So much seeing! So many people! So…many odd customs! Seeing, seeing, seeing! And people were actually…real. Viewing someone is real, but it's not real…it's more…rose. Seeing is more blue."she looked at her hands. "And you could touch. And smell."

"I guess all customs are strange to the people who aren't used to them."Darien said.

"You are used to seeing, aren't you?"Amaterasu asked him.

"If you mean seeing versus viewing, then yes, I'm used to seeing."

"Does viewing seem odd to you? Does only seeing makes you happy? Seeing…"she hesitated. "you mustn't think ill of me for saying such a perverted thing, I would never think of saying it to another Solarian, but seeing makes me happy."

"I'm glad. I guess you're just getting used to it."Lita said to her.

"I think the Aurorans saw. Their planet was cursed. I know they are, too. They fought a war."Amaterasu told them.

"The Aurorans?"

"Oh, you mean the heart snatchers."

"I'm not surprised if they fought many wars."Rei commented.

"No, the Aurorans despised Earth. I don't know why. I think they wanted Earth for themselves."she shrugged. "We Solarians never cared. We want nothing to do with other worlds, we have a perfect world of our own. All we want is to be left alone, and remain ourselves."

"I can believe that."

"But why did the Aurorans despise Earth?"Ami asked her.

"I heard from one of the girls who was helping to harvest agaves, that they despised Earth because, it's really quite a ridiculous and incomprehensible idea, you see,"she shook her head. "because they wanted Earth to be another Tai system. It's really absurd. There is only one Tai Ceti. Of course, you could find other stars similar to it, but Earth's star is a G type star, Tai Ceti is a K. They tried to take other stars before, too, although I don't think that is true. Why would anyone bother taking someone else's star, especially if they don't posses a Crystal? And even if Earth's star was a K as well, each star is different."

She looked out the window at the night sky. Since Solaria had no moon, there was no white orb in the sky. Closer to the center of the Galaxy the stars burned twice as thickly as on Earth, and in greater clusters, almost elbow to elbow.

"You can see so many stars from here!"Bunny had observed the first time.

"So, they just wanted to take over other planets?"Lita asked.

"I guess. But why?"

"It probably wouldn't make any sense to you."Rei said in a bored voice. How could it make sense to someone who had always had so much she was content to not want more?

"It's just incredible the way she simply takes it for granted. That table could feed billions of people for a year!"Rei had said on the first meal they had eaten at Solaria. "I'll bet that it's set like that every day, and they just stood and watched us, you didn't even have to reach out to take a roll! They would just do it for you!"she said about the servants who always stood behind them at the dining table, waiting for their services to be called upon.

"Well, I guess if you live like this all your life, it must have seemed very…stingy on Earth to her."

"Right, only enough for herself."

"Well, she seems so…alone. There might be everything here, but I wouldn't want to live here."Bunny said. "I really don't think I could've lived without meeting Darien."


	14. Chapter 14

"Here it is!"exclaimed Amaterasu. "It's so much closer."she said, as they approached a large field on the third estate they visited.

Knowing that perhaps they might meet the enemy any minute, everyone was transformed. Amaterasu stood out from the rest in her amethyst skirt, unlike the ones the solar scouts wore, which came down to her knees, in layers, and her blouse had no front bow, it was covered in embroidery. Her earrings resembled bolts of lightning reaching the ground, and glowed and crackled. She approached the field, and suddenly stopped. Everything on Solaria is ornamental, she said. I suppose that is why my uniform is as well. Function is at the bottom of the list, everything must be pleasant, she told them. Instead of a pen, she had used her ring.

"I've never actually walked into where they grow and harvest the crops. Only around. I don't think it's-"she had been about to say allowed.

"Allowed?"

"No, it would be allowed. Everything is allowed for a Solarian. It's just that…it's like seeing. It simply isn't done. It isn't…possible."

"I don't see anything blocking the way."said Lita. "Do you?"

"No, I will summon them."

As soon as she finished her sentence, they all dropped their tools, and walked towards them.

"I will never get used this."said Mina.

They stood in front of them, their heads bowed, except for one.

"Why aren't you bowing to a Solarian?"Guardian demanded, looking at the one.

"Where did this one come from, Guardian?"Amaterasu asaked.

Guardian seemed to be analyzing it.

"I think it came from the planet…I believe, Isis."

"Send it back."she turned to the others. "We will go to my estate now. I would like to speak to you."

"Will it go to Aurora or Isis?"asked Guardian.

"It's…both. The body came from Isis, but the mind was invaded by the Aurorans. We will send this disgraceful thing back to them! It doesn't seem strong. It's small. It only attacked two individuals. Both workers."said Amaterasu as she scanned through its memories.

"They are worth very little!"it said.

"Of course they are! The workers don't have pure hearts. They are simply robots."

"Robots!"everyone exclaimed.

Amaterasu turned to them.

"Well, yes, what did you think they were? They were once humans, I think. But they are connected to the Solarian who supervises them. We once used robots on Solaria, but robots were forbidden throughout the Galaxy. People feared them. Only us Solarians didn't. We liked them because they gave us freedom. The freedom to not see. Once they were banned, we hid underground and worked to solve our problems. You see, we were determined to remain ourselves at all costs, and hoped that over time we would be forgotten, while we gathered others from other worlds, and alter ourselves so we could become the most skilled telepaths in the Galaxy. Then we could control them as they wer robots. We could convince ourselves as they were robots."she hesitated. "It looks different to you, doesn't it?"

They looked at it. They saw a young girl, about 18 years old, with thick curly honey colored hair, and eyes. She wore a hat to keep the sun out of her face while she worked.

"Different?"

"You see, to any Solarian, they still look like robots. We could not allow ourselves to see them as humans because…that would be enough to activate our…psychosis."she said in distaste. "I say psychosis because I have witnessed how different your minds are to mine."

The girl looked furiously at Amaterasu.

"You mean these are robots?"

"Yes. They have been controlled to think that way. There is nothing that will not give in to a good persistent education. That is how they were educated. They were chosen among others for their remarkable genetic make up. Of course, theirs is nothing similar to ours."

"You Solarians will pay for this humiliation!"it said.

"Mistress 9!"exclaimed Sailor Moon.

"Not you again! The stupid girl wouldn't allow herself to be possessed! I had to fight, and she ended by driving me out! But this planet will be made another Tai Ceti, and then we will take Earth."

"You will never take Solaria!"said Sailor Solaria with more emotion than any of the other girls had ever seen her express. "Solaria is my home! And we won't let you!"

"And who will help you? None of the others can stand your presence!"

"We can!"said Sailor Venus.

"You couldn't defeat me the last time! It had to be the other one who send me and Master Pharoah 90 away."

"We will send you back! Solaria will not tolerate you! There will be nothing for you here! You have no pure hearts! There are none. The only pure hearts on the entire planet are inside the Solarians, who would see you for what you are the minute they set eyes on you! You could never fool them!"Sailor Solaria told her. "You are no robot! A robot's behavior is governed. You are alien. That must be why you had to hide yourself among the workers. They were never seen, and they were never seen! By anyone, except themselves, and they could never know!"

Suddenly, the rest of the workers collapsed onto the ground.

"What happened to them?"asked Sailor Jupiter.

"They will not awaken! None of them will. Only I can give them their energy. All Solarians can use telepathy, but only I can transduct the energy. There is nothing for you here."

"But if they go back, they will return again and again."

"No."Sailor Solaria said. "I can transduct the energy. I can use the energy to perform any task. The task can be performed by cooling Solaria's interior or Solaria's star. It can shorten the life of the planet or star, but not enough that to make up a significant change. Mistress 9 is still connected to her own master, just as all the workers are connected to us. Through her portal, I can drain enough heat from the Tai Ceti star, and Aurora that she will not be able to return to him. She is so weak, anyways."

"I can return to Tai!"she screamed, as a dark portal opened in the sky.

"No, I will not allow you to harm me again! Solaria Force Depletion!"she went after Mistress 9 as she tried to go back in the portal.

"Solaria!"

Despite the high wind that began, the temperature rose significantly. Even though they were out in a field, it felt like the inside of a furnace, even the ornamental pond began to evaporate.

"We should help her!"

"But we can't attack, what if we hit her as well!"

_I need more power_ they heard her voice say.

"If she can transduct, perhaps she could use our attacks to help her. Especially Mars'. Heat is energy."Mercury said.

Mars used her Flame Sniper. All they could see was the flame going into the portal. Everyone was blinded by a flash of light, and they almost felt as though they were evaporating.

When they woke up, the temperature was back to normal, and even the stream was running again. Everyone was lying on the ground.

"I thought we would die in that desert."said Jupiter.

"We would've have, I think. My transducers hurt."said Solaria, holding her hands to her temples. "They'll be back to normal in a little while."she told herself.

Mistress 9's body was next to her.

"I have decided to make this one my new personal robot."she told the others. "Although what it deserves is to be out in the fields. But I'd like to keep an eye on it. When I searched its memories, it seems that Pharoah 90 can't leave the Tai Ceti system without Mistress 9's opening a portal for him. She is sent by him to collect the crystals. That is the purpose of her."

"Well, here she'll have another purpose, then."Venus said.

"Why, yes, I believe she will."

Back on Amaterasu's estate, they stood in the teleportation room.

"I'd never thought I'd say this to anyone, but I will miss you."

Everyone smiled. Mistress 9, or rather, YQ7391, the serial number she was now known by, entered the room. And handed Amaterasu a bouquet of flowers.

"I know you have much lovelier flowers on Earth, but I'd like each of you to have one of these. It makes me sad that you are leaving. When I first heard Guardian say that they had attacked Earth first, I know it's odd, but…I was…happy. I had never really felt happy. It was always an ambition of mine, I know it is odd to think that a person such as myself could possibly aspire anything, since I have everything, but it was an ambition of mine to meet the Solar Sailor Scouts! I'm sorry. I have asked you to come to Solaria, when I could have…"she stopped, and looked at them. "no, I don't think I could have. I couldn't have done it myself. I see that now. I spent years maturing and training, and with my genetic make up no one would ever have thought me capable of failure. But I see that genes aren't everything. I said that the workers were robots. We are as well. We have no emotions. Emotions limit freedom. You mustn't let your emotions take control of you, there's nothing that give in to a good, persistent education. That's what I was taught. How wrong we all were! I never thought that I would want a friend! Friends imposed their wills on you, and limited your freedom! Oh!"she startled as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

She felt them surprised.

"It's all right, Amaterasu."said Bunny.

Amaterasu wiped them away, and laughed.

"I cry?"she asked. "I never cried before. I read in books that people did. But I thought they were simply exotic metaphors."

"You've never cried?"asked Mina.

She shook her head.

"There is nothing to cry for. Yet I cry because…I am lonely. I see that I have always been lonely. My life on Solaria was not a happy one, but it was the only life I knew! Until I felt happy, I saw just how unhappily I had lived before. How unhappily everyone on Solaria had lived."

Without thinking she went up and hugged them in turn.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for showing me the truth about friendship! Without you, I would have died, like perhaps Solarians often do. Never knowing."

"What will happen to you now?"asked Mina.

Amaterasu wiped her eyes.

"I will stay here. In my mansion. It is my duty. If only…we are at the end of our inviolable estates. No one will ever consent to seeing. I wish they would experience it, as I did on Earth, They could experience how…good it can feel to care someone. What love and friendship truly are. How you can be more free by making someone happy. By caring about them."

"Perhaps with your example they will learn."said Bunny.

"You can't lose hope."said Lita.

"I won't."she looked around. "Someday, this estate will go to someone else. I have no clue who will be chosen out of the thousands of embryos, that would have the most remarkable genetic make up. But they should not be as lonely as I ever was here. Perhaps…deep in their minds, other Solarians too, wish for friendship."

Bunny looked sadly at her.

"Being alone is sad."she said. "That's why I have so many friends."

"I'm sure some do."Rei said.

"Hopefully."Amaterasu confirmed. "It is time for you to go. Perhaps we could view one another, but I wouldn't wish it. I don't want to go back to viewing someone I've seen. I couldn't stand it."she said, looking at Darien sadly.

"Well, like you said, perhaps other Solarians might want your friendship as well."said Mina.

"Perhaps."

She looked sadly as she in the blink of an eye, the spots where they had stood were empty. Looking out the window, she thought, _I want to see roses. Lots of roses when I look out my windows._ They would be planted at once.

"Guardian, did you see to what I told you?"she asked.

"Yes."

She smiled.

When they arrived, everyone noticed a package they had not seen. Darien read the note.

"It says it's supposed to be a wedding present."he said. "But the wedding's not till-"

"But let's open it now!"Bunny exclaimed.

"Wouldn't it be better to wait?"

"Who's it from?"

"Amaterasu."

"She won't mind."said Bunny, pouting.

While staring at all the gifts in front of them, the girls insisted on Bunny opening the one from Amaterasu first. It contained a large painting, of a single red rose in the moonlight framed in a silver frame. Among the rose's petals, were Bunny and Darien.

"Oh, it's so beautiful."

"It looks almost real."

"I guess she must have painted it herself."

"We'll value it the more for that."


End file.
